Fantasy

19-Abby

Aaron, Jessica, and I fly back to Harrisburg International Airport. At the airport, Jenna is waiting for us in her Prius. We all head over to her car, but Aaron stops when he realizes it's her. Unfortunately, he's too late.

"Aaron? Is that you?" Jenna asks as she spots him. Guess he worked out a deal with everyone but Jenna.

"Uh," he stutters.

"What are you doing here? Wait, did you tag along on their mission? You know Mr. Shaw doesn't want you out on assignments. I guess I'll have to report it; get in the car."

"But...please don't tell him."

"I will," Jenna says firmly, herding Aaron into the front seat of the Prius as Jessica and I get in the back. She drives us to the CMRA and all the way is chattering about what Mr. Shaw will do when he finds out his son directly disobeyed his orders. It's a relief when we finally get there.

Jenna stabs in the code to the hatch and I catch a few more numbers. The code is 3014...793238. Once the hatch swings open Jenna practically drags Aaron down the stairs, through the control room, into the lobby and to Mr. Shaw's office door. This is an accomplishment for Jenna considering she's very thin and probably only weighs 90 pounds. Jessica and I follow her, not really sure what else to do. She pounds on the door while holding Aaron by his shirt collar. "Mr. Shaw, I caught your son sneaking off to go on a mission!"

"What? I'll be with you in a minute, Jenna; I'm having an important meeting."

"But Mr. Shaw!" Jenna protests.

"Not now!"

"Ugh," Jenna moans. Then she grabs the doorknob and barges into the office. Ignoring the man sitting opposite of Mr. Shaw, she marches straight up to the President. "Mr. Shaw, I fail to see what could be any more important than the discipline of your son," she states, then turns to see who is on the other side of the room. I turn with her and see that it is Jayce, looking surprised. "I thought I fired you!" she tells him.

He's looks like he's about to say something, but Mr. Shaw beats him to it,"You can do no such thing! Jenna, this man ranks above you so you don't have the authority to fire him, nor has he done anything to deserve the loss of his job, which, might I add, is a vital position as he is solely responsible for designing all of our weapons and numerous other inventions!" Jenna cowers and steps back, "Now, you, on the other hand, are expendable. Especially since I've gotten bucket loads of complaints about you and your arrogance. I suggest you get a handle on your attitude; now, please exit my office and leave me to deal with my son." Jayce watches awkwardly as Jenna stomps out of the office. Mr. Shaw pinches the bridge of his nose and sits back down in his chair. I'm not sure what to do. "Abby, while you and Jessica are here, why don't you give me a progress report?"

"Okay, um, we almost have the locket open, sir. We've also got a pretty good idea of what's in it." A flicker of fear darts across his face, but so fast I might have imagined it. Then his features soften. "Have you discovered anything more than that?"

"Not much," Jessica replies.

"Oh, well, just continue on your quest. The... power," Mr. Shaw says, watching our reaction, "within it could save millions of lives." So he knew what was inside the locket all along. Jayce doesn't look confused, either; I suppose Levina told him about it last night.

"While we're here, we might as well get your permission," Jessica says to Jayce.

"What do I have to do?" he asks.